A New Year’s Resolution isn’t necessarily something you will DO, but WHO YOU WILL BECOME.

I hate when people say, “Failure is NOT an option.”

Failure most certainly IS an option!  I just prefer to choose success.

You should love to do the things that failures refuse to do.

If you don’t…guess what that makes you.

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Anyone who knows me will tell you that Michael Cammack loves some Wal-Mart!  I love everything about this place.  My house is filled wall to wall with Wal-Mart:  groceries, four dollar generic prescriptions, Christmas decorations, Star Wars toys, Princess toys,  electronics, wii games, gardening supplies, landscaping tools, and yes I admit, some of my favorite jeans are from Wal-Mart!

But, aside from the massively impressive inventory Wal-Mart has, I was even more impressed the other day by the service I received from one of their friendly employees.

My son and I were at Wal-Mart for another one of our regular visits.  The purpose for this trip was to find poster frames to hang a couple posters we purchased at another recent, regular trip to Wal-Mart.  (Sounds like I have an addiction problem, doesn’t it?)

Well, the poster frames came in a large variety of sizes, and we didn’t know the exact measurements from our posters.  We went to the poster section and found our posters, but the sizes were not listed anywhere.  We looked on the poster stickers, the poster racks, the display frames, but could not find the measurements anywhere.  I didn’t want to take a guess at what size poster frame to buy, only to get home and find out it is the wrong size.  Because after all, who knows when I would be back at Wal-Mart to exchange it?  (Yes, that’s a joke.)

So, we asked the first employee we found if he could assist us with our problem.  He was quick to tell us he didn’t know and couldn’t help.  NOT the customer service I was hoping for.  We weren’t giving up that easy.  Down another aisle we found a group of three employees talking, so surely one of them could help us.  As my son and I approached this group, we overheard one of them saying to the other, “I’m not even on the clock,” so I had no intentions on directing my question towards her. 

Once we approached this group, I explained our predicament and one of the employees walked us back over to the poster display.  Then we pretty much just repeated over and over the useless search for measurements that my son and I had already went through just minutes before.  Again…no poster size information.

Then it happened!  One of the employees walked up to us and completely took ownership of my problem.  She came up to us and said she would be right back with a tape measure so we could find out the exact measurements of the posters.  And guess who it was!  It was the employee who was “not even on the clock!” 

The employees at Wal-Mart are all making pretty much the same hourly wage, yet it was the one who was actually not making a dime at that moment who made the choice to take our problem and make it her own.  Let me repeat that last part…she “made the choice to take our problem and make it her own!”

It’s really not rocket science here…it is simply making a choice to identify when customers have a problem and to make that problem our own.

Wal-Mart made an addition to their massive inventory that day.  Thanks to one “off the clock” employee, they completely took ownership of my problem. 

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Last week I got to experience one of those moments that last a lifetime.  My six year old son scored his first goal in a soccer game! 

When we practice in the backyard, my son runs his fastest and he is very aggressive.  However, when it is an actual game he has a tendency to follow behind the others at half speed, and he doesn’t attack the other kids the way he attacks Daddy.  So, knowing personally what he can do with a soccer ball in the back yard, I have had complete confidence all season that he could score in a game. 

I will always remember the moment as though it was a stadium filled with 60,000 screaming fans, celebrating as though my son just scored the goal that won the USA the World Cup.  I will remember the kick as being something powered by a Greek god with lightening bolts and thunder exploding as the ball ripped through the net blazing with fire.

In actuality, the field doesn’t even have bleachers, and there were maybe 25 parents watching the game from the sidelines sitting in the lawn chairs they carried from their cars.  And to be more accurate, the ball slowly rolled its way into the goal where the goal keeper was nowhere to be found.

Looking back on the moment, sure the goal was beyond exciting and made me a proud father.  But, it was the celebration from one of the teammates that really made this event so special.  After my son scored the goal, his buddy grabbed him, picked him up, and began spinning him around as the crowd cheered. 

Usually when a kid scores, there are a few high fives that take place and then everyone lines back up for a kickoff.  Not this time.  This celebration made my son feel like he had just conquered the world. 

It doesn’t get much better than to be carried around in celebration of your accomplishments.  Special moments without praise and recognition can easily become forgotten.

Knowing this, ask yourself everyday who you can grab, pick up, and spin around in celebration (not to be taken too literally, or you can expect restraining orders).

Look for people in offices you call on who have accomplished something great.  Recognize employees at these offices who received “employee of the month”…or better yet, what if YOU put together the “employee of the month” program at some of the offices you call on regularly? 

Pay attention and LISTEN to everyone so you can find something to celebrate!  Did someone’s child get accepted to an awesome school?  Did someone’s spouse get a great job?  Did your customer’s favorite baseball team win the World Series?  CELEBRATE!  This is your chance to make a memory!   

Remember, everyday you choose your mindset the same way you choose what clothes to wear.

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Doing the right thing, for the right reasons, yields the right results!

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Today is the last day on earth for today’s opportunities. Don’t let them pass you by.

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Why do people stay in a “Comfort Zone“?  Perhaps because we have somehow been conditioned to think that “Discomfort” is bad?

We need to recondition ourselves, and everyone around us, to understand what it really means to experience “Discomfort.”

“Discomfort” is simply the body getting rid of Fear and Weakness just as it would expel wasteful toxins from our systems.  Removing Fear and Weakness from our systems makes room for professional and personal growth, advancement, creativity, courage, and everything else associated with positivity!

So if “Comfort” is a home for Fear and Weakness, and “Discomfort” allows us to improve…doesn’t it make more sense to be in the “Discomfort Zone”?

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Some people say you should delete the word “impossible” from your vocabulary. I disagree….as long as you believe the letters “IM” stand for “I Make!”

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Is it more important to offer your customer a plethora of products, or to make one solid recommendation? Your answer to this question will tell you if you are actually in sales, or if you are just an order taker. (from www.michaelcammack.com)